The Schadenfreude Society
by vandevere
Summary: Murder Most Foul...
1. Chapter 1

_Avalon Heights_

Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis stood looking down at the body blocking the main front door of the Avalon Heights Building.

"Daniel Carrera," the cop on the scene said. "Doorman for Avalon Heights. Shot right through the head while at work. Died instantly."

"Any witnesses?" Curtis asked.

"Lots…" the cop shrugged. "But all they saw was Carrera get shot. Nobody saw a gunman. We'll know more when they autopsy the guy. Bullet's still in the brain."

Lennie Briscoe sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Okay…start canvassing the area, find out if anyone had a beef with him."

"The wife or girlfriend too…" Curtis looked over to his new partner. "Right, Lennie?"

"Yeah…" Lennie sighed again, remembering the arguments he'd had with Mike Logan before Logan got himself…exiled.

 _It's always the wife. Or the girlfriend._

Several hours later, the two detectives were at the CSU Lab.

"Your guy was shot with a .308 Winchester," the tech informed them. "Fired from _quite_ a long distance away."

"A hit?"

A very _professional_ hit," Briscoe corrected Curtis. "With a very _professional_ hitman."

…

"Why would anyone kill my Danny?" Under normal circumstances, Angelique Carrera might have been a pretty woman, beautiful even.

But, not with her features ravaged as they were, with grief.

"Who would want to kill Danny?" she dabbed at teary reddened eyes. "He never did nothin' to nobody! He was a good soul, Danny was."

"So…" Briscoe prodded. "No affairs, and he didn't gamble?"

"Damn straight! He didn't do neither of those things! He was a good man. So, why the fuck are you trying to stain his good name instead of finding the bastard who did this to him?"

Curtis repressed a sigh as he looked at her.

She was visibly pregnant, with a three-year-old girl sitting on her lap.

 _Newly widowed, with a small child, and another one on the way…_

Impossible not to feel sympathy for someone in this plight.

 _But, as Lennie has told me countless times, it's always the wife. Or the girlfriend…_

"We'll keep you in touch when we know more," he stood, Briscoe following suit. "We're sorry for your loss…"

The next order of business would be to check for Life Insurance policies…

…..

"Yep, he had one with us," the insurance agent, Ken Tyler by name, said as he handed the folder to Detective Briscoe. "Payout's a cool two mil…"

"Which will be a great comfort to his grieving widow, and her children."

"Yeah…" Tyler nodded. "What's her name?"

"Angelique Carrera. Why are you asking me? It should all be in the policy, shouldn't it?"

"Yeah, well…I don't know anything about an Angelique Carrera," the agent shrugged. "The beneficiary of the policy is an Anais Van der Hooten."

"Anais Van der Hooten…" Briscoe considered that. "Don't know the name."

"I do," Rey Curtis spoke up. "Science Fiction writer."

"You read sci-fi, Rey?"

"I dabble, Lennie. She's sort of a Harry Potter in Space Academy. Up to four books now in the series."

"That's considerably more than dabbling, Rey…"

"Deborah likes them, Lennie. She's read them all. She wants our kinds to read them too."

"So Anais Van der Hooten is popular in your household?"

"Not if she's a murderer, Lennie..."


	2. Chapter 2

"Yeah…I knew Danny Carrera," Anais Van der Hooten said as her maid poured coffee for her, and her visitors, Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis.

"He was a good man," she continued. "Never a bad word for anyone."

 _She doesn't look like a cold-blooded killer_ , Rey Curtis thought to himself.

She was short, with styled copper-red hair, and wide-lensed glasses that were slightly out-of-date.

"So you have no idea why anyone would want to kill him?"

"None at all, Detective Briscoe. What's going on here?"

"We've found evidence that might link _you_ to Carrera's death."

 _"_ _Me?"_ Van der Hooten out her coffee cup down. "That's ridiculous. Why would I want to kill him?"

"If you would join us at the station," Curtis put in. "We would be glad to continue the discussion there."

"Provided my attorney can join in too," Van der Hooten spoke dryly. "I would be delighted."

"There you go…" Briscoe scoffed. "Bringing lawyers into it. You _know_ what that looks like?"

"Yes!" the woman snapped. "It looks like an intelligent woman defending her rights."

She picked up her phone, started dialing.

"He can meet us there," she added.

…..

 _27_ _th_ _Precinct_

 _Interrogation One_

" _He's_ your attorney?" Lennie Briscoe stared in absolute disbelief-not to mention an extreme sense of dislocation-at Anais Van der Hooten's attorney.

Ben Stone.

"He's an old family friend," Van der Hooten explained.

 _Damn…_

Stone shrugged slightly, a boyish smile gracing his features.

No doubt, he, too, was reflecting on the irony inherent in the situation.

"I thought you were traveling in Europe!" Briscoe accused.

"I came back last month, Lennie," Now, Stone was all business. "What's this about my client having a reason to kill the victim?"

"Carrera had a Life Insurance policy worth two million."

"If he did, it would have been for his wife," Van der Hooten interjected. "Danny loved her to pieces. They already had a little girl, and another one on the way. If he had a policy, it would have all been for her, and the kids."

"You sure about that?" Rey Curtis asked.

"Yeah… Danny was always showing us photos of his wife and his little girls. He was also completely excited about having another child."

"That's interesting," Briscoe sat back. "But the policy we found name _you_ as the beneficiary."

 _"_ _What?"_ Van der Hooten stood, in obvious shock. "That's… _impossible!_ He loved his wife and kids. If he had any such policy, it would have been for _them!_ "

Briscoe regarded Van der Hooten.

"Again…are you sure?" he prodded.

"She's sure," Ben Stone answered for her. "She has no need for whatever the policy paid out."

"You mean she'd turn her nose up at two mil?"

Van der Hooten snorted, shook her head.

"A whole two million…that much eh?"

"Well…it's not exactly something to sneeze at."

"Look, Detective Briscoe," she leaned forward. "Anais Van der Hooten is a pen name. It's not my legal name."

So…what is your legal name?"

"Carolyn Edgewood."

"Uh…From the Boston Edgewoods?"

"Yes, Detective Briscoe. _That_ Carolyn Edgewood. So, as you can see, I really don't need an extra two million."

 _Damn…_

Carolyn Edgewood was one of the richest women in the world; with an estate worth upwards of twelve _billion_.

"We'll provide her financials to the DA's Office this afternoon," Ben Stone stood. "Are we done here?"

"Yeah," Briscoe stood too. "Guess we are…"

 _In more ways than one._

 _Well…_

 _Back to the drawing board…_

…..

"Ben!" Adam Schiff stood, arms out for a hug. "Heard you were back."

Jack McCoy hung back, let the reunion take its course.

"Heard you torpedoed my case," he finally said over scotch in Adam Schiff's office.

"My client's liquid assets list in the billions," Stone spoke reasonably. "She has no need for an extra two million. Secondly, I'm told that the Insurance check was made out to Anais Van der Hooten; and that's not her legal name. She wouldn't have been able to cash it anyway. To me, that suggests something else entirely."

"Yeah…" McCoy sighed over his scotch. "It does…"

 _Someone killed a man to frame her. Someone who doesn't know that Anais Van der Hooten was only a pen name._


	3. Chapter 3

"Hope you've got something we can use this time," Lennie Briscoe grumped as he walked into the CSU Labs, Rey Curtis right behind.

A solid fingerprint had been found on the bullet removed from Carrera's brain. From there, the fingerprint experts had been able to identify a whole set.

Lab Tech Maria Fuentes held out a fingerprint sheet.

"We still don't have a name," she continued. "But this particular set of fingerprints has turned up before, in some very interesting cases; one of which involves your Anais Van der Hooten."

"Oh?" Lennie straightened. "Do tell…"

"It was about a year ago, and Ms. Van der Hooten called the police about it."

"What happened?" Rey Curtis spoke up.

"Apparently, someone had slipped something into her purse. When she emptied her purse for the day, she found a packet of high-grade cocaine. She immediately called the police, and not a minute too soon."

"What do you mean?"

"The Narcs turned up a few minutes after the police arrived, guns drawn, in full lock-down mode. They hand-cuffed _everyone_ ; Van der Hooten, her secretary, _and_ the police who were already on the scene."

"Ouch…" Briscoe muttered softly. "I imagine that didn't turn out well…"

"Yeah…" Fuentes agreed. "The Narc Squad was thoroughly embarrassed; Van der Hooten was fully cleared. They never identified whom those fingerprints belonged to."

"So, somebody not in the system…" Curtis commented. "You said those prints turned up somewhere else?"

"Yeah…Three years ago. Remember the Adam Roberts Case?"

"Major movie star in LA," Briscoe nodded. "Up for an Oscar, caught with a baggie of Coke. He claimed he'd been framed, but was convicted anyway."

"I remember that," Curtis said. "The only prints found on that baggie were never identified. Last year, Roberts was acquitted, and his conviction voided. But his reputation had been irreparably tarnished, and no one would hire him. He killed himself eight months ago."

"Yep," Fuentes nodded. "And this same person tried to do the same with Van der Hooten. It was simply a fluke that she discovered the planted coke, and called the police, before the narcs got there."

…..

 _1 Hogan Place_

"Let me get this straight…" Jack McCoy sat in his office, facing Ben Stone, Lennie Briscoe, and Rey Curtis.

"This unidentified person planted drugs on a major movie star, which resulted in a wrongful conviction, and that star's eventual suicide. He tried to do the same with Anais Van der Hooten, but she discovered the drugs and called the cops, which ended in major embarrassment for the Narcotics Division. So our Mystery Man apparently took out an insurance policy for Daniel Carrera, an employee at the complex where Van der Hooten lives, a two million insurance policy, with Van der Hooten named as the beneficiary. Then, our guy shot and killed Carrera."

"That's about the size of it," Briscoe agreed. "And we literally have no idea who this guy is. He's not in the system."

"Try the military," Ben Stone suggested. "Mystery Man used a long-range rifle to shoot Carrera."

"A sniper," Curtis nodded. "We'll get right on it. Also, someone apparently called the Narcs for both Roberts and Van der Hooten. We checked, and whoever did the calling did so with a voice synthesizer. Narcotics said they couldn't even identify the caller's gender."

"That, alone, should've told them something hinky was going on," Lennie grumped.

"I know," McCoy brought his gaze to the detectives. "We have one murder, two attempts to cause Wrongful Arrest, and there's also the Roberts Suicide to consider. Our Mystery Man's looking at the Death Penalty. That is, if we can find him…"

"We'll do what we can to find the bastard," Briscoe and Curtis both stood. "What happens afterwards is down to you, Counselor."

After they were gone, Jack McCoy looked at Ben Stone.

"Bringing back memories?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Stone nodded slowly. "It does."

"Adam tells me you asked to rejoin the DA's Office…"

"I'm not angling for your job, Jack. I only asked to join on a temporary basis so we can clear this case as soon as possible. Someone tried to frame a friend of mine. A man was killed; two, if you're counting Robert's suicide-"

"I am."

"All right, Jack. Let me help you get whatever you need so this sonofabitch can be put away."

McCoy nodded slowly.

"Yeah…" he said at last. "Let's do this."


	4. Chapter 4

_27_ _th_ _Precinct_

"His name is Roger Hall," Detective Lennie Briscoe explained to his boss, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, as she leafed through the suspect's bio.

"The man's a world-class sniper," she commented as she put the folder down. "Honorably discharged, awarded several medals for valor. So, what's he doing planting coke on people, and purchasing life insurance policies without their knowledge or consent?"

"No clue," Lennie shrugged. "We'll ask him when we bring him in."

…..

 _145 East 30_

"Have to wonder why Hall's doing this," Rey Curtis said as Lennie Briscoe drove. "He was a sniper in the Marines. Why stoop to this?"

"Some people just have a thing about celebrities," Lennie kept his eyes on the road. "All that adulation, all that wealth. It seems to get some people's underwear in a twist."

"Yeah…" Curtis nodded. "But Van der Hooten seemed all right to me. And Adam Roberts didn't seem all that bad either. There's enough bad behavior by stars out there already."

"Dunno… Jealousy maybe?" Lennie shrugged as he stopped the car. "We're here."

Curtis looked at the apartment building.

"What a dump," he commented.

"Hey, you're insulting good honest dumps," Lennie drew the arrest warrant out. "Let's go get the guy."

The detectives bumped into their target as he left the building.

"Roger Hall?" Detective Briscoe asked.

"Yeah…" the man's stance was wary. "Who's asking?"

"Police," Briscoe produced the warrant. "We have a warrant for your arrest. Please place your hands behind your back."

As Hall complied and Curtis handcuffed him, Briscoe proceeded to Mirandize him.

"If you cannot afford it, an attorney will be provided free of charge. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

…..

 _27_ _th_ _Precinct_

 _Interrogation One_

Jamie Ross sat at the table, facing Sally Bell, and her client, Roger Hall.

"We have connected your client to two baggies of coke, one found by the police on Adam Roberts; the other found by Anais Van der Hooten, and called in by her, just before the Narcs were called in by an unknown third party…"

Ross paused, then continued.

"Mr. Hall was also identified by Insurance Agent Ken Tyler, as the man, posing as Daniel Carrera, who took out a two million dollar insurance policy naming Anais Van der Hooten as the beneficiary. Also, your client's prints connect him directly to the shooting death of Daniel Carrera."

"Yeah..?" Hall spoke huskily.

"We have you dead to rights on Carrera's death," Ross gave him her best deadpan stare. "With everything we have, you could be looking at the Death Penalty."

With Jack McCoy on the case, the Death Penalty was a…dead…certainty.

That was, perhaps, the one thing she didn't like about her boss.

 _Hang'em High McCoy…_

Brilliant, passionate… _driven._

But, underneath the brash exterior, there was the soul of a man who _cared_.

She heard Sally Bell's sigh. Rumor had it that Bell had been an ADA years back, that she and Jack McCoy had been…close.

 _She knows Jack too. Probably better than I do._

When Jamie Ross had become Jack McCoy's Assistant, his Second Chair, she'd had some misgivings. McCoy had a...reputation among the female ADAs at Hogan Place.

But there had been stories about him and Claire Kincaid, how her death-killed by a drunk drive-had taken something out of Jack McCoy.

 _If Jack McCoy is_ _ **this**_ _present now…_

 _What must he have been like before she died?_

Sally Bell sighed again.

"My client has something he could tell you, if it will take the Death Penalty off the table. Off the record, for now…"

"Off the record," Ross agreed.

…..

"You're not going to believe this…" she stepped into Jack McCoy's office, found both McCoy and Ben Stone there, having a companionable scotch.

"Hall pled out?"

"Not yet," she took a seat. "According to him, he was _hired_ to do all of this; the baggies of coke, the insurance policy…everything."

"Including the killing?" Ben Stone asked.

"Yes,"

"All right," McCoy leaned forward at his desk. "Did he name his employer?"

"Emory Chance, Owner and Chief Editor of _Stars in Our Eyes_..."

McCoy frowned. Apparently the name, and the title associated with it, meant nothing to him. Not that Jamie Ross was all that surprised. Jack McCoy had a complete and total disinterest in what passed for popular culture nowadays.

"It's a celebrity news rag," Ross explained. "You know…who's been caught in bed with whom; who's divorcing whom."

"So…celebrities caught behaving badly…" Ben Stone spoke thoughtfully.

"Celebrities caught behaving badly…"McCoy repeated. "And if they don't, Chance makes sure they get caught anyway…"

It did, indeed, look that way.

"What do you want to do, Jack?" Jamie Ross already knew what Jack's answer would be.

"Let's talk to Emory Chance," McCoy announced. "See what he has to say now it's _him_ caught behaving badly."


	5. Chapter 5

Jack McCoy stood over Claire Kincaid's grave, a single red rose in his hand. He'd been doing this every week for over a year now, ever since her death at the hands of a drunk driver.

 _If I hadn't called her… if I hadn't all but demanded she come and pick me up at the bar…_

"Jack…"

McCoy sighed at the sound of Ben Stone's voice, bent, and placed the rose in front of Claire's tombstone.

 _Should've known he'd come here…_

Ben Stone came up beside him, and both men stood there, looking down at the grave.

"I'm sorry…" McCoy sighed.

" _You're_ sorry?" Stone sounded startled. "You didn't kill her."

"Didn't I?" McCoy kept his eyes on the headstone. "If I hadn't called her…"

"It wasn't your fault, Jack," Stone looked down at the grave. "You didn't seduce a child. She was a grown, intelligent, educated woman, who made a choice to get involved with you; and it was _her_ choice to do so."

Stone sighed as he looked down at the grave.

"I read all the reports and depositions, Jack. A drunk driver killed her. Not you. So, will you stop beating yourself up over it?"

 _I wish I could…_

"Maybe we should get back to business now?" Ben Stone suggested. "We have Emory Chance to investigate."

Emory Chance, owner of the gossip rag, _Stars in Our Eyes…_

"Yeah…" McCoy turned away from Claire Kincaid's grave, aware of Ben Stone doing the same.

They had a case to prepare…

…..

"Our magazine provides a public service," Emory Chance sat at his opulent desk.

Tall, and ruggedly good-looking, to Jamie Ross, he looked more than a bit like a movie star himself; what with that thick head of wavy black hair, and those sparkling blue eyes.

"A public service," Ross looked back at Chance.

"The public has a right to know what the rich and powerful do, as much as any other public figure."

"Even if it means sorting through their trash?"

"Even if it means sorting through their trash," Chance nodded, blue eyes twinkling. "They don't get free passes for bad behavior here."

"Yes," Ross nodded. "But there have been some…disturbing incidents; cases where falsely planted incriminating evidence destroyed the career, and the life, of a major star. Adam Roberts was found to have been completely innocent of the crime for which he was convicted."

"I'd heard that," Chance sipped his coffee. "A tragedy. But what does that have to do with me?"

"As I recall, _Stars in Our Eyes_ covered his arrest, and trial pretty extensively," Ross sat back. "The trial coverage, in particular, was heavy."

"It was a very newsworthy incident, Counselor. A major movie star slated to win an Oscar caught with coke in his mansion."

"Yeah…" Ross nodded. "But it's clear, now, that it had been planted there with the express intent to get Roberts arrested and convicted; and, even after his exoneration, his reputation was damaged beyond repair. His career was destroyed, and he killed himself."

"I know…" Chance sighed. "But they never found out the bastard who planted the cocaine, so-"

"Actually, we have him," Ross leaned forward. "We also have him on charges relating to the planting of phony evidence of Scifi writer Anais Van der Hooten, the purchase of a phony Life Insurance policy for a doorman at Van der Hooten's apartment, _and_ the shooting death of that doorman."

"So, Ms. Ross?"

"Roger Hall planted cocaine in Ms. Van der Hooten's purse, made a call to alert the authorities about said cocaine. When that failed to result in an arrest, Hall, posing as Daniel Carrera, purchased a Life Insurance Policy worth two million, and named Anais Van der Hooten as the beneficiary. Then, he shot, and killed, Daniel Carrera. His prints were also found on the bag of cocaine that destroyed Adam Roberts' career, and there are indications that he wasn't working alone."

"Indications…" Chance sat back.

"It takes money to purchase cocaine, and it takes money to purchase a two million dollar Life Insurance policy. Hall is indigent."

"So…someone fronted the cash."

"Yes, Mr. Chance, and Roger Hall named you as the instigating agent. I would suggest getting an attorney if I were you."

"I will," Chance nodded. "You can be sure of that."


	6. Chapter 6

_1 Hogan Place_

Ben Stone sat with Jack McCoy, in McCoy's office, listening to Roger Hall's taped deposition.

It brought back some powerful memories of when he had been the Executive Assistant DA.

But, for all that, Ben Stone wasn't tempted to come back to the DA's Office full time.

In the end, it was all too grueling.

 _Hat's off to Jack. He actually loves the long hours, and everything else it takes to get the perp convicted…_

For now, though, there wasn't much for the DA's Office to do.

It was all down to the detectives now; and the quality of the evidence they found…

…..

 _27_ _th_ _Precinct_

"Ugh…" Detective Lennie grunted. "This isn't exactly my idea of a great time, Rey-Rey…"

Detective Rey Curtis grinned at Lennie's use of his family nickname.

 _We're partners. He's entitled…_

Besides, the work they were doing now was boring. Excruciatingly boring. Files on Emory Chance, his friends, colleagues, and associates. Chance seemed to associate with four other people on at least a semi-regular basis.

Nathaniel Freed, Lana Lerner, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov. All owner/operators of so-called "Celebrity Rags". All deeply involved in uncovering bad behavior on the part of Celebrities. There were life histories to go through, phone logs, and _thousands_ of photos, some of the magazine owners, others of celebrities, including those Briscoe and Curtis had met only last year.

 _The Heidi Ellison Case…_

It had been a tough case, but Jack McCoy had ultimately prevailed, and now Eddie Newman was in Death Row, facing the needle.

Curtis heard Briscoe's soft grunt of surprise.

"Lennie?"

Briscoe was staring down at a photo, looking just a little alarmed.

"Rey," his voice trembled just a little. "This might change everything..."

…..

 _1 Hogan Place_

Three attorneys having lunch-Chinese-in Adam Schiff's office.

"What are your plans, Ben?" Adam Schiff asked.

"After this case?" Stone put his chopsticks down. "I've applied for a teaching position at NYU. Mac Geller is retiring next year, so I think they'll accept me."

"Why not teach at Harvard?" McCoy asked. "That's your alma mater, and I'm sure they would love to have you there."

"My reasons are purely selfish," Stone smiled as he picked up his chopsticks again. "I prefer living in Manhattan."

Ben Stone didn't advertise it, but the fact was he came from a wealthy family. Money wasn't an issue for him.

Adam's phone rang.

"Yes," Schiff picked it up. "They're both here. Come to my office."

"Adam?" McCoy asked as Schiff hung up.

"Briscoe and Curtis think they've found something," Schiff explained.

The office door knocked and Detectives Briscoe and Curtis walked in.

"Gentlemen," Schiff stood. "I believe you said you've found something."

"Yeah…" Briscoe handed a folder to Jack McCoy. "This is going to blow your mind…"

McCoy opened the folder, looked at the photo inside.

As Stone watched, McCoy…went gray; features suddenly ash pale.

"Jack…" Ben Stone leaned over, put a hand on the other man's shoulder.

There was a tense silence. Then…

"Dr. Dan Duvall…"

McCoy spoke softly as he put the photo on the table, and Stone looked at the open folder, at the photo.

Two men were there, at a classy-looking pub, one of whom was Emory Chance.

"The other man is Dr. Dan Duvall," McCoy explained. "He was a…key witness in my prosecution of Eddie Newman…"

There he was, Dr. Dan Duvall, sitting at a table, and _drinking with_ the man suspected of having arranged for celebrities to be arrested on false charges.


	7. Chapter 7

_1 Hogan Place_

Ben Stone poured a scotch for himself, made his way to a nearby chair.

"So, tell me about this Eddie Newman case," he said.

McCoy frowned, thick eyebrows furrowing.

"What do you know, Ben?"

"Only what I heard on the news," Stone sipped his scotch. "Newman supposed killed Heidi Ellison, then cut her body up to dispose of her mortal remains."

McCoy sighed as he set his scotch on the table.

"Newman claimed he had no memory of killing her," he said. "According to him, he fell asleep on Heidi Ellison's bed, and when he woke up, she was dead. Dr. Dan Duvall apparently told him he killed her while in a drugged state; then told him to dispose of the body and handed him a…I think they called it a _barong."_

Stone frowned.

"Newman said he was drugged?"

"Prescription pills, Ben. Briscoe and Curtis said he had a ton of those, all prescribed by Dr. Duvall."

Stone sighed too. With what they know knew, it was possible, indeed highly likely, that it was _Duvall_ who had done the killing.

 _Then induced his highly suggestible patient to dispose of the body, setting himself up to be the main suspect…_

McCoy had already sent his assistant, Jamie Ross off to prepare the paperwork for voiding Eddie Newman's conviction.

He had also made a call to Neil Gorton, informing him of possible exculpatory evidence; although he had done that with a distinct reluctance.

Ben understood McCoy's reluctance in this particular case. Gorton had mounted an exceptionally dirty defense. Jamie Ross was his ex-wife, and he had threatened to take custody of their only child away from her.

In the end, that ploy had failed, but there was plenty of bitter feeling left over from that.

Eddie Newman had been convicted of Heidi Ellison's murder, and was now on Death Row, awaiting the needle.

 _Except we now know he may not have killed her._

 _Damn…_

There was a discreet knock on the door, and Jamie Ross walked in; accompanied by Neil Gorton. Gorton didn't look happy. Neither did Jamie...

…..

"Judge refuse to look at the case?" McCoy had had that happen before; a case where they had found exculpatory evidence after the Defendant had been convicted.

It was never easy to undo a Jury Conviction.

"No," Jamie Ross paid her purse on the couch. "Judge Harrow was quite happy to take a second look at Eddie Newman's case."

"So, why the long faces on you two?"

It was Neil Gorton who responded, laying hands flat on McCoy's desk, looming over him.

"Eddie Newman is dead!" he spat. "He was shivved this morning on the pretext that she received more than the allotted two waffles for breakfast."

Again, McCoy sighed.

 _Been doing that a lot lately, haven't we?_

"I'm…sorry…"

That was all he could think of to say. Gorton apparently had a lot more to say.

"I'm going to have you up on charges! Add Wrongful Death to the things on your name! I'll-"

"Shut up, Neil!" Jamie stood up. "You thought he was guilty too! You wouldn't have pulled that shit with me if you hadn't."

There was a silence in the office. It was Ben Stone who broke the tense silence.

"Who do we go after?" he asked.

" _We?"_ Neil Gorton turned to glare at him. "I'm a Defense Attorney. It's you lot who are Prosecutors."

"You're an Officer of the Court, Neil," Jamie Ross reminded him. "You have the same duty as we. _Justice_. You want to go after the people responsible for Eddie Newman's death? Help us nail Dan Duvall. If he has any brains at all, he'll help us nail the tabloid slime who are really responsible."

"Wait a minute, Jamie…" Gorton held up a hand. "You're saying that _Magazine Owners/Operators_ are responsible for…"

"Read this, Neil" Jack McCoy stood, and handed Gorton a thick folder. "We learned about this when someone tried to frame a Science Fiction writer-Anais Van der Hooten-for murder. Our investigation turned up other cases too. And Eddie Newman isn't the first movie star victim. Remember Adam Roberts?"

"I _defended_ him!" Neil Gorton snapped as he looked down at the folder McCoy had just handed to him. The folder was thick.

"This might take a while," he said.

"Take a seat, and read," McCoy sat too. "We can wait.

About an hour later, Neil Gorton put the folder down.

"Shit…" he muttered. "Is this for real?"

"As far as we can tell, yes," Jack McCoy nodded. "Magazine owners have been planting coke on unsuspecting victims, buying Life Insurance without their knowledge or consent, and paying hitmen to kill innocent victims; all to discredit celebrities. All to increase magazine sales"

"And you want me to do…what?" Neil Gorton asked. "Join your little ragtag group of rebels and topple the evil Magazine Empire?"

"Yes," McCoy nodded. "It's the right thing to do. And it's justice for both Adam Roberts and Eddie Newman. Or were you jerking my chain when you said you wanted someone to pay for Eddie Newman's death?"

Neil Gorton stood there, chewing his upper lip.

"What the hell…" he finally shrugged. "It'll be nice working _with_ you guys for a change…"

"Fine!" McCoy picked up his phone. "Chinese? Or Italian?"


	8. Chapter 8

The Schadenfreude Society 8

 _1 Hogan Place_

"Uh-oh...There goes the neighborhood," Detective Lennie Briscoe commented cheerfully as he entered the EADA's Office, Detective Rey Curtis directly behind.

Briscoe expected Jack McCoy and Jamie Ross to be there, of course, and Ben Stone too. A friend of his had been framed, after all.

But…

 _Neil Gorton?_

After the Heidi Ellison Murder, and the incredibly nasty trial of Eddie Newman, Briscoe expected Gorton to be as welcome in the DA's Office as the Bubonic Plague.

But there Gorton was, having a friendly coffee with the three other lawyers.

"Close your mouth Lennie," McCoy was smirking. "You don't want to swallow a fly."

"Let me guess, Counselor," Briscoe grinned back. "Dan Duvall?"

""Yeah…" McCoy picked up his coffee. "Hopefully, he'll be the one card that brings the entire house down. Dig up everything you can on him."

"We will…"

Lennie had never followed the whole Celebrity Culture thing. But his ex-wives had, and his daughters too, so he wasn't entirely in the dark as to how those things worked.

Outside, Briscoe turned to Curtis. The younger man sighed as he got into the driver's side of their car.

"I hope this won't be as nasty as the Eddie Newman Case was," he started the car, and Briscoe sighed too.

Curtis' marriage had been on rocky ground when the Newman Case hit; the result of a brief indiscretion on Curtis' part the day of Mickey Scott's execution. But he and his wife had been working to repair the damage.

 _Then one of the Newman's Defense attorneys had done her level best to discredit Curtis by insinuating an affair between him and a Hollywood exec, Lisa Lundquist._

There hadn't been an affair, although Lundquist had certainly made her intentions clear on the matter.

Curtis, however, had stood firm in his resolve to be faithful to his wife.

The insinuation of infidelity had almost torpedoed Curtis' Marriage anyway.

"The sooner we nail Duvall, the sooner this whole thing will be finished," Briscoe said. "Let's get on this."

…..

 _27_ _th_ _Precinct_

"Dr. Duvall's been a very busy boy," Lieutenant Anita Van Buren commented as she looked down at Duvall's phone logs for the past three years.

She had already seen his financials for the last three years. He'd made a decent pile of money in the course of his career; no great surprise there. The man _was_ a psychiatrist to Hollywood's elite, and his fees were entirely in keeping with the status-financial and otherwise-of his clientele.

But some of his patients' names rang some chimes in Van Buren's memory…

"Let me see that list of Emory Chance's friends again," she asked Rey Curtis.

"So..." Van Buren read the names off the list. "Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Lana Lerner, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov. They're Dr. Duvall's patients too."

Which meant that Doctor/Patient Privilege was attached…

"Yeah," Briscoe said. "Chance's rag is _Stars in Their Eyes._ Freed and Lerner co-own _Hollywood News._ Gillis owns _Star-scope_ , and Sokolov owns _Cine-news_ …"

"I see those mags every day, at the grocery checkout," Van Buren put the list down. "Always with some dirt to dish on someone."

"That's the rags for you," Lennie shrugged. "Always with something on someone."

"But now we can't be sure it's the actual truth anymore," Van Buren sighed.

"With these mags, LT, were we _ever_ sure?"

"Ain't that the truth," Van Buren sighed.

She had learned a long time ago, to take anything _those_ magazine said with more than a grain of salt.

Celebrity Magazines had a reputation for…creativity…where the truth was concerned.

 _Everyone knows Celebrity rags lie…_

But…this was different. This was celebrity magazines committing crimes to discredit celebrities.

This was celebrity magazine owners committing murder to discredit celebrities…


	9. Chapter 9

The Schadenfreude Society 9

 _Rikers Island Correctional Facility_

"Man Two?" Sally Bell stared at Jack McCoy as if he had just taken leave of his senses. "Yesterday, my client was facing the Death Penalty. What's changed since yesterday?"

Jack McCoy, sitting directly across from Bell, and her client, met her gaze, raised eyebrow for raised eyebrow.

"A lot's changed since yesterday, Sally," McCoy's gaze flicked across to Roger Hall. "We're prepared to be lenient, provided he tells us everything he knows about these people…"

He slid a few photos across the table to Hall. The other man briefly looked at the photos.

"Yeah…" he grunted. "I know them. Some better than others."

The faces of Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov looked up from the photos on the table.

And Dr. Dan Duvall…

"So…which one hired you?" McCoy leaned forward.

"They all did…for this and that…"

"Roger…" Sally Bell spoke warningly.

"It's okay, Sally," Hall turned back to McCoy. "They call themselves _The Schadenfreude Society_ ; and they… _decide_."

"Decide? What do they decide?"

"The usual…" Hall sat back. "Who's about to implode…Who's least likely to implode."

Hall shook his head.

"Other times, they think there's a celebrity who has had enough…"

"Enough what?" McCoy stared at Hall. "Explain, please."

"You know," Hall shrugged. "Sometimes, they get just a little too…big for their britches. Too much fame and fortune."

"You believe this, Mr. Hall?"

"I dunno…" Hall shrugged again. "But it's serious business for the Society. They find someone they think doesn't deserve all the fame and stuff…they do what they can to take him or her down a peg or two."

"All right, Mr. Hall," McCoy leaned forward. "I'm going to name three celebrities, and you're going to tell me what you know about them. In return, you can plead to Man Two."

"Full Immunity for anything else you might learn from this…confession?" Sally Bell interjected.

McCoy sighed in exasperation.

 _Eight to Twelve for killing a Doorman, widowing a mother with young children, and setting up a chain of events that led to the suicide of an actor…_

"Yeah…" he finally conceded, gracelessly. "Full Immunity."

"Okay…" Hall nodded at Bell's nod. "I'll tell you what I know."

"All right," McCoy brought out the small paper, with only three names on it.

"Adam Roberts, Eddie Newman, and Anais Van Der Hooten. I'm especially interested in anything you might have on Eddie Newman's case."

"Eddie Newman?" Hall frowned. "I didn't have anything to do with that. That was all Dr. Duvall's business…"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Mr. McCoy. It was the night they convicted Newman, and I was with Mr. Chance at his bar. Duvall came in to…celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

"Yeah…that's what Chance called it. A celebration over the conviction and eventual death of a celebrity who didn't deserve fame and fortune."

"Did he pay Duvall?"

"Not right there…" Hall scrunched his face up, trying to remember. "But I'm sure he did. He paid me ten thousand each time I did a…assignment for him."

…..

 _1 Hogan Place_

"The Schadenfreude Society…"

Adam Schiff repeated the words thoughtfully.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of."

Ben Stone could only agree.

"So…Dr. Duvall _did_ kill Heidi Ellison…" he murmured.

"And set Eddie Newman up to take it in the face…"

Jack McCoy looked ill at the thought, and Stone repressed a sigh.

He had always been opposed to the Death Penalty. Jack McCoy, though…

He came by his nickname, _Hang'em High McCoy_ honestly.

But, right now, he was living every good prosecutor's nightmare.

 _An innocent man wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death…_

Eddie Newman was dead. He had been killed by a fellow prisoner instead of the State. But that made no real difference.

 _Eddie Newman wouldn't have been there to be killed by that prisoner if Jack McCoy hadn't moved heaven, earth, and hell, to put him there._

Now, the DA's Office had sent Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis off to arrest Dr. Dan Duvall.

"When they get Duvall, go easy on him," Stone suggested. "You'll need him to get the members of this Society, and you won't get that by waving the Needle in his face."

"Think I don't know that?" McCoy scowled, glaring thunderously.

Schiff's office phone rang, and he picked it up.

"Schiff speaking. Yes…they're both here…I see…Drug overdose? I'll tell them."

He put the phone back in its cradle.

"That was Lennie Briscoe…"

"Please tell me Dr. Duvall isn't dead…" McCoy stood.

"No…" Schiff sighed. "The detectives went to his office to pick him up, found him unconscious at his desk. Everyone's at Manhattan General now. I assume you'll want to join the party?"

"I'll drive," Ben Stone offered.

…..

 _Manhattan General_

The Waiting Room was just a little crowded right now, with Two Detectives, a handful of Police Officers, and two ADAs waiting, some perhaps more patiently than others…

Jack McCoy felt grim as the doctor walked up to the small party.

"How is Duvall?" he demanded as soon as the doctor came up.

"He's alive," Doctor Kennedy said.

"When can we speak to him?"

"He's non-responsive right now; a coma," Kennedy explained. "Before you ask, we don't know when he'll come out of it. Or if he even will come out of it. Guy was drugged. Rat Poison."

"Any chance of this being a suicide attempt?" Briscoe asked.

"Seeing as there are at least a million other, less painful ways to do it," the doctor said. "I'd say no. He didn't do this to himself. It was done _to_ him."

 _Someone belonging to the Schadenfreude Society caught wind of the investigation, and acted to pre-empt us…_

He brought his gaze back to the detectives and police officers.

"I want Dr. Duvall under a twenty-four hour protective guard," he ordered. "Only medical personnel to see him."

He paused.

"Place Roger Hall in Protective custody too." He added. "The people who did this to Duvall wouldn't think twice of killing Roger Hall."

Rey Curtis nodded, turned away to make a call to the 27th.

 _I'd better call the others…_

Jamie Ross and Neil Gorton.

 _If this Schadenfreude Society if going to play dirty, so must we…_


	10. Chapter 10

_1 Hogan Place_

The mood in the Executive Assistant DA's office was subdued this morning.

Ben Stone, sipping his morning coffee, looked around the room, at his companions.

When Rikers Security had arrived to take Roger Hall into Protection, they had found him dead in his cell. There hadn't even been a mark found on his body.

Liz Rodgers was currently hard at work in the ME's Office, but it would be a while before she had anything substantive to report.

Duvall, at least, was alive. But in a coma from which it was possible he might never awaken.

Still, there was a twenty-four hour guard set over him. Just in case…

"What did the doctors say about Duvall?"

"Jack," Jamie Ross sighed. "They said it was highly likely he would never wake up. There's nothing they can do. Briscoe and Curtis are trying to lock down who killed Roger Hall; but they won't be able to do much until the ME's Office discovers _how_ Roger Hall died."

"Light a fire under Liz Rodgers," McCoy snapped. "I'm not going to let _them_ get away with murder by committing more murder!"

There was a knock on McCoy's office door.

It was Anais Van Der Hooten who walked in hesitantly at McCoy's barked command.

"May I borrow Ben Stone for a minute?" she asked.

"I'll be back," Ben Stone stood at Jack McCoy's graceless assent, and stepped outside into the hall with his original client.

"What's wrong, Lynn?" Van Der Hooten was a world-renowned science fiction writer. What the world didn't know, what only a very few-including Ben Stone-knew was that Anais Van Der Hooten was really fabulously wealthy Carolyn Edgewood.

The murder of Daniel Carrera, and the discovery of a life insurance policy, with her named as the beneficiary, was what had set this whole thing off.

"I need to ask you a legal question, Ben," she said. "The killer bought a life insurance policy for Mr. Carrera, but made it in my name."

"Yes, Lynn," Stone nodded. "Two million dollars."

"I want to give two million to Mrs. Carrera, so she and her children won't be destitute. Is there a way I can do this so she won't have to pay income tax? Also, I don't want her to know where the money came from. Don't want her thinking she's beholden to me, or anything."

"I'll see what I can do…" he sighed. "It's not your fault, Lynn. You didn't do this."

"I know!" she snapped. 'Someone killed Danny to get to me. That doesn't make me feel any better. You and Mr. McCoy…just you and he do your best to get the bastards, all right? I can talk to you about how to help the Carrera Family once that's done."

"Thank you, Lynn. May I walk you out?"

"Thanks, but I know my way out," she smiled sadly. "Go get them, Ben. Make them pay."

…..

 _Rikers Island Correctional Facility_

 _Sometimes, miracles really do happen,_ Jack McCoy thought to himself.

Liz Rodgers had come through, as usual. It had been an unusual kind of choke-hold.

 _It had left no bruises, but strangled Hall just as easily._

That pointed everyone to Samuel Gardinski; a prison guard who had served in the Marines in the Eighties.

Now, Gardinski was safely held in Solitary. Even better, he had confessed, freely, after having signed a waiver in front of, and over the protests of, his attorney. He had even named his employer.

Emory Chance.

That was not the only miracle…

…..

 _Manhattan General_

"Are you going to be my attorney, Neil?" Dr. Dan Duvall's voice was raspy; the result of a couple of days on a ventilator. But he was sitting up, and even with oxygen cannulas up his nose, he looked alert. A remarkable recovery for a man who had been on death's doorstep only the day before.

Neil Gorton sighed.

"There might be conflict," he warned. "But, for now, I can act as your attorney. Gotta warn you, Jack McCoy thinks _you_ were the one who killed Heidi Ellison."

The look in Duvall's eyes was the only confirmation Gorton needed.

"For God's sake, Dan… _why?_ "

"Neil…You don't know what Chance, and the others, had on me."

"Enlighten me, Dan," Gorton took a chair by Duvall's bedside. "I'm all ears…"

…..

Some hours later, the Executive Assistant DA sat in the small private hospital room, along with the Defendant, and his Attorney.

"Man Two…" Gorton still had his duties as Duvall's Defense Attorney. "Minimum Sentence."

Jack McCoy didn't want to do it, didn't want to let Duvall off so lightly. It had been Duvall who had killed Heidi Ellison, it had been Duvall who had given Eddie Newman that barong, and it had been Duvall who had told Newman to cut Ellison's body up and dispose of the remains.

It had been Duvall who had set Eddie Newman up to take the blame.

And now, Eddie Newman was dead too.

 _All because of what this sonofabitch did…_

But Duvall was also promising to give them Emory Chance, and all the other members of this so-called Schadenfreude Society.

Man Two was also what they had offered Roger Hall, and what they were offering Samuel Gardinski…

"Your information had better be pure gold," Jack McCoy growled.

"They made me do it!" Duvall was almost weeping. They had…stuff…on me!"

" _Stuff?"_

Neil Gorton cleared his throat.

"You remember Nikki Starz?" he said.

Nikki Starz. A rising star with incredible…assets, and a mediocre talent. Whatever her talent, her rise had been meteoric. Until an overdose of prescription pills had put an end to her life.

"I was careless," Duvall explained. "Put her on the wrong meds. Chance found out, threatened to destroy my career. I had to do what he said, or he'd ruin me."

"All right…" McCoy hated doing this, letting Duvall off with Man Two, when he had sent people who had done less, to prison with harsher sentences. But he needed Dan Duvall to bring the Schadenfreude Society down.

"Man Two," he gritted his teeth and got on with it. "Minimum Sentence. In return, you're going to give us _everything_ on the Schadenfreude Society. Where they go…what they do…and who they do it with."

Duvall looked to Gorton. Gorton nodded.

"This is as good as it's going to get, Dan. I'd take it if it were me…"

"Fine," Dan Duvall nodded too. "I'm in…"


	11. Chapter 11

_Yet another celebrity-fueled trial,_ Jamie Ross thought to herself.

The five Defendants-Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Lana Lerner, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov-stood at the front of the packed courthouse; along with their attorneys.

"How do the Defendants plead?" Arraignment Judge William Koehler asked.

"Your Honor," Larry Weaver stood, apparently spokesman for the gaggle of attorneys representing the Defendants. "The Defendants are men and women of social standing, they have strong ties to the community, and intend to fight the charges brought against them."

"Your Honor," Jamie Ross stood too. "The evidence points to the Defendants as being material in the matters of the death of Adam Roberts, who was framed, by the Defendants. They had an agent of theirs plant cocaine on his person. There is also evidence that implicates them in the murder of Heidi Ellison, and the subsequent framing of Eddie Newman. On top of that, we also have evidence indicating they were responsible for the two million dollar life insurance policy taken out on Daniel Carrera, said policy taken out in the name of Anais Van der Hooten, and also for his murder."

She paused to take a breath, went on.

"Also, there is the murder of Roger Hall, and the attempt on Dr. Dan Duvall's life. We don't know who attempted to poison Dr. Duvall, but Samuel Gardinski pled guilty to murdering Roger Hall, on the orders of Emory Chance."

"So, a whole lot of murder…" Koehler murmured.

"Yes," Ross nodded. "The People request Remand for each Defendant, and their passports."

"The Defendants have already surrendered their passports, and they haven't been convicted yet," Weaver shot back, "Demanding incarceration would be premature, as our clients are totally innocent of all charges."

"So I take it the Defendants are pleading _Not Guilty_?" the Judge asked Weaver.

"Yes," Weaver nodded vigorously. "Not guilty in the strongest possible terms."

"All right," Koehler sighed. "Bail is set at two million each Defendant, cash or bond."

…..

"I didn't want to have anything to do with it!" Lana Lerner was almost in tears. "It was all of the others! They dragged me into it!"

"You could have called the police," Jamie Ross challenged her.

"And they would have killed her," Danielle Melnick pointed out. "As they already did with Roger Hall."

"The People are prepared to be lenient," Ross continued. "Provided she testifies against the others. We can protect her. But she has to do some prison time."

"Man Two seems to be the going rate, "Melnick said. "Eight to twelve then she disappears from the public record?"

 _Everybody's getting Man two, and eight to twelve…_

Jamie Ross sighed.

It was the Deal of the Century…

…..

"How far do you want to take this, Jack?"

Jack McCoy frowned at Ben Stone's question. They had just received the news that Lana Lerner was going to cooperate with the DA's Office in the prosecution of the other four Defendants.

"You going to tell me they don't deserve the Death Penalty?"

McCoy knew Ben Stone's stance on the Death Penalty, and all the standard arguments against it.

 _It's unevenly applied, with the poor, and minorities bearing the brunt._

But that surely didn't apply to these Defendants…

Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov, were all very white, and very, _very_ rich.

 _With callous disregard for the lives and well-being of all the others whose lives were ruined by their murderous acts…_

"Ben…a young woman with an infant, pregnant with another, was widowed on their orders. Another man was driven to suicide, and Eddie Newman…"

"They had Heidi Ellison killed by the doctor both she and Eddie Newman trusted," Jack McCoy stared at Ben Stone. "And _he_ had orders from them to get Eddie Newman to implicate himself by carving her body up and disposing of it. His own doctor, the man who swore to do no harm…"

McCoy still couldn't believe it, how a _doctor_ , sworn to heal, could so callously set an innocent man up for the Death Penalty...

"They used Dan Duvall, and Roger Hall, like tools of the trade," he snapped. "I can't let them off that easily."

"Duvall and Hall weren't the only tools they used," Stone spoke softly. "They used you too, Jack."

A wave of purest fury jolted through Jack McCoy, reddening the edges of his vision.

Ben Stone was right, though…

In an era of increasingly public trials, the Eddie Newman Trial had been one of the most _publicly_ public trials McCoy had ever endured, with televised daily recaps, and Celebrity analysts weighing in on the event.

In a very real sense, it had made Jack McCoy's name a public one.

But Eddie Newman had been innocent all along…

 _Look at how easy it is to be convinced…_ Suddenly, McCoy could hear Claire Kincaid's voice in his mind. _Or how easy it is to be deluded…_

Claire Kincaid had always had deep trouble with the Death Penalty.

He blinked sudden tears away, hoping Ben Stone didn't see his momentary lapse. Right now, he missed Claire so intensely, her absence a gaping hole in the place where his heart should have been.

But, that was neither here nor there…

"Manhattan needs to know there are certain things that will not be tolerated," McCoy was glad to hear his voice didn't tremble. "Murder for Hire is one of those things. So is murder for profit. _This_ case is both, and it needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms."

He looked back up at Stone.

"As you said, Ben, they used people like tools to do their dirty work; and they used the DA's Office, they used… _me_. If we don't come down on them hard, we're telling people it's okay to do what Chance, and his friends did; and I can't allow that. I won't. So, in answer to your earlier question, I'm going to take this all the way. Chance, and his cronies, are going to answer for what they did."


	12. Chapter 12

The Schadenfreude Society Ch 12

The celebrity news analysts and pundits called it _The Trial of the Century._ After having conveniently forgotten that they had said the exact same thing of the Eddie Newman Trial of only last year.

Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov…

They had all been found guilty of the charges brought against them, had all been sentenced to death.

 _Adam Roberts, Daniel Carrera, Roger Hall._

 _The Schadenfreude Society had ordered the death of Daniel Carrera to frame an innocent writer. They had planted cocaine on Adam Roberts to discredit him; which led to his suicide. They had Heidi Ellison killed to frame Eddie Newman. All to increase magazine sales and gossip TV ratings…_

The other three, Lana Lerner, Samuel Gardinski, and Dr. Dan Duval, had been sentenced to eight to twelve in return for giving testimony against the Defendants. Duval, had also been required to give up his license to practice medicine.

"You okay with the verdict?" Jack McCoy, sitting at his desk, asked Ben Stone.

"My opinion on the Death Penalty is irrelevant," Ben Stone shrugged. "It's what the People wanted. Are _you_ satisfied?"

"Ben…" McCoy sighed. "Emory Chance, and his friends, made… _millions_ …trading on the bad behavior of the rich and famous. But it wasn't enough. They had to play God. They picked out particular celebrities, _framed_ them. They acted with callous disregard for peoples' lives. They had people _murdered_ , and used the DA's Office to do their dirty work. Can you honestly say they don't deserve the Death Penalty?"

Now, it was Ben Stone who sighed.

"Jack…We're human beings. Even with the best will in the world, and the greatest care; on occasion, prosecutors make mistakes. We sometimes fail to convict the guilty, and we sometimes convict an innocent person. The Death Penalty is final. Once the person is dead, you can't undo it."

Abruptly, memories of Claire Kincaid filled McCoy's mind.

 _We always had arguments over the Death Penalty._

 _What I wouldn't give to have her back, arguing with me…_

"Claire would have agreed with you," saying those words to Ben Stone was the hardest thing Jack McCoy had ever done. "We argued about it after Mickey Scott's execution…"

Now, _there_ was a man who truly deserved the Needle.

 _He raped and murdered a woman in public, in front of applauding witnesses. All for denting his car…_

…..

 _Claire would have agreed with you…_

Ben Stone bowed his head at McCoy's statement.

"Jack…" There was really nothing he could say to that.

 _Time to leave, I guess…_

"The case is done, Jack," He stood to take his leave. "You got what you wanted, so...Jack?"

McCoy was chuckling, the muted laughter dark and bitter.

"Adam said that to me after Eddie Newman was sentenced to death," he said after a bit. " _Began with a killing, ended with an execution. You got what you wanted. Take the rest of the week off…"_

"What do you expect?" Stone asked. "He's not a fan of the Death Penalty either."

"No," McCoy nodded. "Guess that makes me the odd one out…"

"Maybe it's time to rethink things…" Stone suggested.

McCoy shrugged uncomfortably.

"Where are you off to now?" he asked.

"I'm going to help Lynn set up a trust fund for Angelique Carrera and her children."

" _Lynn?"_ McCoy was momentarily at a loss.

"Anais Van der Hooten's real name," Stone explained. "She still feels guilt over what happened to Daniel Carrera."

"Not her fault," McCoy stated.

"I know," Stone nodded. "She still needs to make things right-her own words."

Ben Stone paused.

"I'm staying in Manhattan, Jack, and I know what this job can be like. You ever find yourself in need to someone to talk to, or scream at, I'm only a phone call away."

"Yeah…" McCoy stood, held out a hand. "Thanks for the help, and you can be sure I'll take you up on that offer…"

 _fin_


End file.
